Letter chute



Dec. 18 1923.

LETTER CHUTE Filed Jan. 18 1925 Qz t Patented Dec. 18, 1923.

lh liifilld WILLIAM F. VTEMHOENER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

LETTER GHUTE.

Application filed January 18, 1823.

1.0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLmir \VEM- Ho ninR, a citizen of the. United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Letter Chutes, of which the following is a lull, clear, and exact description, such as will enah e others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same. ref erence being had to the accompanying drawlugs, forming part of this application. My invention relates to mail delivery cevices such as are ordinarily used upon doors or partitions to permit delivery of mail by a carrier without waiting for someone to admit the carrier or take the mail from him.

The object or" in r invention. is to provide in such a device means for recei *ing outgoing mail and delivering the same to the carrier when the latter introduces mail into the device. I also desire to protect outgoing mail placed in the device from exposure to the weather and to the view of those passing the door in which the device'is located.

In the accompanying drawings which il lustrate V a selected embodiment of my invention- Figure 1 is a horizontal section through a door equipped with device, a part of the latter being sectioned to more clearly illustrate its construction;

Figure 2 is a vertical elevation with parts of the device removed tobetter illustrate the construction and is taken substantially on line 2-2 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 33 of Figure 1, showing the device in its normal position. 7

Figure 4: is a similar section showing the device in its functioning position.

In my device as illustrated, an escutcheon 1 surrounds a rectangular opening formed in the door 2 to which the device is applied and is itself provided with a similar rectangular opening 3 which is normally closed by a plate 4 pivotally mounted upon a rod 5. Rod 5 extends longitudinally of the opening near the middle therof, passes through lugs 6 formed on the rear of plate 4:, and has its ends secured in the sides of escutcheon 1. One or more coil springs 7 engage the es cutcheon and the lower portion of plate 4 to yieldingly rotate the later to vertical posi tion shown in Figure 2 in which the lower Serial No. 613,430.

portion of plate 4: bears against an inwardly facing lip 8 upon the escutchcon and the upper portion of the plate bears against an outwardly facing lip 9 upon the escutcheon.

Located near the center of the opening is a member 10 here shown as forming an integral projection on the rear "face of plate l and provided with a. convex corrugated surface 11 which is cylindrically disposed about rod 5 as an axis. When plate 4; is swung upon its pivots, member 10 is also swung and the surface 11 moves forwardly from the position shown in Figure 3 to that shown in Figure 4.

Extending rearwardly from the upper portion of escutcheon 1 is an element 12 which forms a. yielding mounting for a roller 13 positioned immediately above member 10.

The ear of the opening in the door is surrounded by a cover plate 142 which can ries a projec ing rod or other similar element 15 adapted to cooperate with member 10 to form a support for mail-matter indicated at A which may he slipped through an opening 16 in plate 14 and will be gripped between roller 18 and member 10.

V7 hen a carrier is delivering mail, he will tilt plate t to the position shown in Figure 4 which thereby provides an inlet passage 17 extending inwardly from the lower portion of the escutcheon and separated from. the upper portion of the escutcheon by plate 4 which has then assumed a substantially horizontal position. This movement of plate 4: by the carrier rotates member 10 which carries any mail-matter resting upon the same forwardly as indicated in Figure l so that it projects beyond the plane normally occopied by plate 4 and is plainly brought to the attention of the carrier and may be re moved by him for collection.

I have shown member 15 and plate 14: as separated from escutcheon 1 but it is obvious that element 15 could be mounted upon es cutcheon 1 similar to element 12 or that plate 14., if it did not extend above and below the door opening, could be formed on plate 1. As suggested above, member 10 is not necessarily formed integrally with plate 4 but may be a separate member operatively connected thereto.

These and other modifications in the details of the construction of my device may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention embodied herein and expressed in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. In a mail delivery device for a door opening, a mail supporting element fixed on the door near the rear of the opening and accessible therefrom, a plate pivotally mounted on the door at the front of the opening and normally closing the latter, a mail supporting element on the rear of said plate and movable outwardly when said plate is tilted to unclose the opening, an antifriction element for causing mail on said supporting elements to be moved outwardly through said opening by said supporting element on the plate.

2. In a mail delivery device, a pivoted plate, a member having a cylindrical surface and rotatable by said plate, and a yielding element cooperating with said surface to grip mail matter between the member and element.

3. In a mail delivery device, a pivoted plate including a member having a horizontal cylindrical surface axially aligned with the plate pivots and mounted on said plate to rotate therewith, and a yielding element cooperating with said surface to grip mail matter between the member and element.

t. In a mail delivery device, a pivotal plate, a projection on the rear face of said plate having an upwardly facing convex surface above the axis of the plate pivot-s, and a freely rotatable roller yieldingly supported immediately above said projection.

5. In a mail delivery device, an escutcheon adapted to surround an opening in the door or the like, a plate pivoted at itssides to the sides of said escutcheon and adapted to close said opening or to swing on its pivot to provide separated passages through said opening, a projection on the rear of said plate forming'a supporting surface for mail laid thereon, which surface, when said plate is swung on its pivots, moves toward the front of said opening.

6. In a mail delivery device, an escutcheon adapted to surround an opening in the door or the like, a plate pivoted at its sides to the sides of said escutcheon and adapted to close said opening or to swing on its pivot to provide separated passages through said opening, a projection on the rear of said plate forming a supporting surface for mail laid thereon, which surface, when said plate is swung on its pivots, moves toward the front of said opening, and a roller yieldingly mounted on the rear of said escutcheon positioned over said projection and adapted to press mail-matter placed between said roller and said projection against the latter.

7. In a mail delivery device, an escutcheon having a rectangular opening, a rod extending across said opening near the center thereof with its ends secured to the sides of said escutcheon, a plate normally closing said opening pivotally mounted on'said rod,

a relatively short member located near the middle of said rod rotatable about the same with said plate and having an upwardly facing corrugated surface forming a support for mail-matter, and a yieldingly mounted rollerimmediately above saidmemher adapted to cooperate with the same to move mail-matter through the upper portion of the escutcheon opening when said plate and member are-rotated, said plate, when so rotated, forminga partition dividing said openingt-o provide a lower portion for the admission of mail-matter.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature this 29th day of December, l922.

WILLIAM F. IVEMHOENER. 

